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I had a mild tinnitus for over 11 years. It started after a bad flu with my sinuses heavily congested. I woke up with a buzzing and it stayed with me since then. It wasn't bad, I could hear it only in silence and I get used to it pretty quickly. Life was still good.

A month ago I woke up with sinuses filled up (but not as bad as 11 years ago) and I noticed increased noise in my left ear. Now, a month after, my sinuses are clear yet my tinnitus didn't improve. Now it's much louder at night and I can hear it pretty much most of the time, including being at work or watching a movie in the evening. Before I didn't have that. I also noticed that some noise aggravates my tinnitus . I also noticed fullness in my ears and stiff neck... probably related to stress.

I don't know what to do. It feels it will now stay forever with me. I'm lost.

Has anyone had similar experience with tinnitus getting much worse? Did it stay with you or improved over time?

Hi Adam,
I think your middle ears are still gunked up from your cold and ears are the last to settle.
Try steam inhalation with a bowl of hot water and towel over your head twice a day for two days if no better over the weekend get your ears checked out by your doctor. .....lots of love glynis

I went to GP two weeks ago. Ears looked good. He gave me a steroid to inhale. It didn't help. I also go a few times a week to a steam room. No difference . I had sinuses clogged before, but my tinnitus was never as bad and persistent as now

Hi Adam ,
I know its hard when our ears are so loud and can make you feel low too.
Keep sound on around you and do what you can to relax.
I hope your tinnitus settles back down for you soon and your ear preasure also.....take care....lots of love glynis

How can I get tympanometry? In the UK, both GPs and ENTs take a piss and don't give you any valuable advice.

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Do you have an audiologist. In the uk they do tympanometry but even if they dont just treat yourself as though your tubes are blocked. You may need antibiotics for the sinuses the gp cant see if they are blocked. Only accept amoxycillin though. Use the valsalver procedure to gently unblock the Eustacian tube and look on you tube for the correct way to use nasal spray to get some of it in the eustacian tube. And keep doing what Glynis says tubes can take weeks to clear.

Thank you Noisebox for your advice. I indeed might have used a steroid spray not as I should. I wonder if this might be the reason why my ears still feel with pressure and my worse tinnitus isn't getting much better, even though it's already over a month since I woke up with full sinuses (which now feel clear). My gp didn't give me antibiotics.

I wanted to share with something odd what happened to me (and gave some hope). Over the weekend I was so depressed with my increased tinnitus that I started drinking from late morning until evening (in total 2x bottles of white wine). When I woke up at night my tinnitus was almost gone (not gone, but closer to my old mild tinnitus than what I have now). I was soo happy, but it didn't last too long. After few days now I have still louder tinnitus. I tried a trick with alcohol again, but this time it didn't work and made me even more depressed

I wonder what alcohol did for me for that brief time (maybe 24 hours) that my tinnitus seemed much milder.

I also wonder how long should I wait for my ears to clear up, pressure come to normal and tinnitus gone to what was before.